


Covering Bruises

by MakingPoetry



Series: Albtraum 2.0 [7]
Category: The Covenant (2006)
Genre: Gen, M/M, makeup to the rescue, serious conversations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:54:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25170451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MakingPoetry/pseuds/MakingPoetry
Summary: Tyler has a talk with Caleb about what's been going on, mainly him and Chase. Then he has a talk with Pogue.
Relationships: Caleb Danvers/Tyler Simms, Reid Garwin/Tyler Simms
Series: Albtraum 2.0 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1813285
Kudos: 8





	Covering Bruises

Tyler didn't like this one bit. Reid was out, he'd asked Caleb to come over, told him they needed to talk. He was less of a mess than he'd been earlier, but he couldn't stop blushing. He tugged nervously on his sleeves while he waited, pacing the room. Caleb was going to _kill_ him.

Speaking of, there was a knock on the door, and Tyler nearly jumped out of his skin. Taking a moment to try and compose himself, taking a deep breath, he went over and opened the door, greeting Caleb with a nervous smile.

"What's wrong?" Caleb almost asked 'what did you do' but that was usually reserved for Reid.

"You should sit down first," Tyler said, closing the door behind him. This was definitely a 'you want to be sitting' kind of situation. 

Caleb did as Tyler suggested, sitting on his bed, elbows on his knees, waiting for the bad news Tyler was inevitably going to lay on him.

Tyler took a deep breath, avoiding eye contact. "Chase and I've got...a thing," he blurted out. There was no sense tip-toeing around it.

Caleb frowned. "What kind of thing?"

Hesitating, Tyler looked down at the floor. "A, uh...a sexual thing," he admitted. He didn't know how else to describe it. Was it romantic? Did Chase feel that way about him or would even considering it just be flattering himself?

There was a moment of silence.

"Jesus, Tyler, you're having _sex_ with him?" Caleb didn't sound angry so much as utterly surprised, maybe a little worried.

"No! Not-" 'not yet' he'd almost said. Tyler's blush returned full force. "It's complicated."

"Complicated how?" Caleb was at least giving him a chance to explain.

"I remember what he did, okay, I didn't just forgive him for it," Tyler started. "But he hasn't hurt me-" actually, Chase had been pretty decent to him, which was still a pretty low bar, but it was better than the alternative "-and I think he's...lonely."

"Lonely?" Now Caleb was starting to sound angry, and Tyler just hoped it wasn't directed at him. "Tyler, he would have killed _all_ of us. He doesn't get to just waltz back in and expect to be friends."

"I know." Tyler took a deep breath, risking a glance up, trying to read Caleb's face, figure out who he was more angry with--him or Chase.

"How long has this been going on?"

Tyler swallowed, looking down again. "A few days."

"And you didn't tell me sooner because you knew it was wrong," Caleb said quietly.

"Is it?" Tyler said, looking up. "What if he's changed?"

"Guys like Chase don't change." Especially not over the span of a few weeks.

"Tyler," Caleb started, getting up and putting a hand on Tyler's shoulder. "He's using you. I don't want to see you get hurt." Or anyone else, for that matter, but Tyler seemed to be the most vulnerable of the four of them.

"Maybe... I don't know," Tyler said softly, shaking his head. He didn't _feel_ like Chase was using him, but maybe he was wrong. The way Chase kissed him...it was like he meant it.

Caleb cupped the side of Tyler's face in his other hand, gentle. "Don't let him take advantage of you."

"He's...I swear he's not, but..." Tyler hesitated. Was Caleb right?

Caleb kissed Tyler on the forehead, lingering for a moment before pulling away. "Was there anything else you wanted to tell me?"

"No, that was everything," Tyler said, still quiet.

"Be careful, okay?" Caleb gave Tyler's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Don't let him rope you into things you're not comfortable with."

Tyler nodded, hesitantly meeting Caleb's eyes. "I won't, I promise."

"I'll tell Pogue about this, so he won't take it out on you," Caleb said. Pogue would have time to calm down that way, and hopefully wouldn't go yelling at Tyler. Caleb didn't want to alienate him for this; it was Chase they should blame, for getting into Tyler's head.

Relief washed over him, and Tyler nodded. "Thanks." Telling Pogue would have been even harder.

"Does Reid know?"

"Yeah, he-- he definitely knows," Tyler said. "I think he's pissed."

"He'll get over it. Just give him some time. Are you okay?"

That was the difference between Caleb and Reid or Pogue; he could set aside his anger or disapproval and make sure Tyler was doing alright, even after yelling at him. Reid would just stalk off, and Pogue...Pogue would try to apologize, but it would be too late.

Tyler nodded. "Yeah." Things had gone surprisingly better than he'd expected, and he was grateful for that.

"Good. And try not to be too hard on yourself." Chase had them all fooled at one point; he was manipulative.

"Easier said than done," Tyler said. Now that both Reid and Caleb had yelled at him.

Caleb offered him a small smile, patting his shoulder before heading for the door.

\-----

That night, after Reid got back, Tyler lied in bed staring across the room in the dark. Reid had his back to him, and hadn't even said good night. He was still upset and it wasn't helping Tyler sleep any easier. He didn't like it when they argued. Reid being upset with him was one of the worst feelings.

When he'd had enough of lying there, Tyler threw back the covers and got up, going across the room. There was just enough space for him to squeeze himself into Reid's bed behind him, curling against him. He knew Reid wasn't sleeping when the blonde shifted to make more room for him, so Tyler wouldn't be hanging off the edge of the bed.

"How'd Caleb take things?" Reid asked quietly.

"Not too badly," Tyler admitted. "Are you still mad?"

"Kind of." Reid sighed. "But I'm more upset with Chase than with you."

"I'm sorry." Tyler pressed a kiss to the back of Reid's shoulder. He didn't care that _he_ was the one apologizing; he felt like he'd done something wrong, anyway. And besides, Reid and apologies didn't really go together very well.

Twisting around to face him, Reid wrapped his arms around Tyler, tucking his chin over his shoulder. "Should've let me punch him," he muttered.

Tyler smiled a little. "If there's another opportunity, you can totally punch him." If it would make Reid feel better.

\-----

"Is it super obvious?" Tyler asked, fussing in front of the mirror.

"It's pretty obvious, now hold still," Jessica said, grabbing his face to turn his head to the side so she could dab makeup on his neck.

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Shhh." It was harder to work when Tyler kept talking. "Trust me, I have plenty of experience covering up hickeys." These weren't exactly hickeys, but the same theory applied.

Wisely, Tyler kept his mouth shut, watching in the mirror as the bruises dotted around his neck were covered up. He couldn't imagine going the whole day with them out on display. Even the collar of his shirt wasn't high enough to hide them.

"I'm not even going to ask what you were doing; I don't want to know," Jessica continued, focusing on her work. "And this stuff isn't waterproof, so you're on your own at swim practice."

"Shit." He'd forgotten about swim practice. It wasn't like he could say he wasn't feeling well. The bruises would still be there tomorrow.

"You're all set," she said after another moment, letting go of his face and stepping back.

"Thanks," he said, surveying her work again in the mirror. He couldn't see the bruises anymore, and he could barely tell there was makeup on his neck; it blended well. "I owe you one."

She waved a hand, gathering up her makeup and returning it to her bag. "Don't worry about it."

\-----

The day passed mostly normal. Tyler did his best not to touch his slightly sore neck so he wouldn't rub off the makeup, and none of the guys seemed to notice. Except when it came time for swim practice. The makeup started washing off in the pool and really came off in the shower, when Tyler absently rubbed his neck.

Pogue was the first to notice. Tyler didn't know at first if Caleb had told him about things yet, but his face fell when he saw the marks on Tyler's neck, and Tyler suddenly felt nervous.

As soon as they were away from other people, when it was just the four of them, Pogue cornered Tyler, almost looming.

"Did Chase do that to you?" He was somewhere between asking and demanding.

For a moment, Tyler froze, shooting a look at Caleb and Reid. Caleb hadn't seen the bruises before either, but Reid had, that morning before classes. "Yeah, but it's not what it looks like," he said.

"It _looks_ like finger marks." Pogue's anger was rising by the second, and it wasn't directed at Tyler.

"I mean, you're not...wrong..." Tyler said, shifting from one foot to the other.

Pogue slipped his fingers under Tyler's chin, tilting his head to the side to get a better look. "How is it not what it looks like?" And what reason did he have _not_ to punch Chase's lights out?

Tyler swallowed. "He wasn't doing it to hurt me." How many times was he going to have to explain this? It'd been embarrassing enough the first time.

"Then-" The realization hit Pogue like a slap to the face. Taking a deep breath, he tried to stay calm. "Uh-huh." It was hard not to be jealous, or upset with Chase for leaving such obvious marks on their baby boy.

"Imagine walking in on them," Reid said, apparently still more upset about it than he'd led Tyler to believe the previous night.

"I can't believe you're giving _Chase_ a chance," Pogue said, dropping his hand away from Tyler's face.

Tyler opened his mouth to argue, but Caleb beat him to it.

"Don't be so hard on him, guys." Caleb tugged him away from the wall where Pogue had cornered him, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "Nickey's tonight?"

Relieved for the change of subject, Tyler nodded. "Yeah, sounds good."

\-----

Nickey's was a good idea to blow off some steam and spend time together, just the four of them. Since Chase had been back, it'd been a while since they'd all hung out together, played pool, or just enjoyed the atmosphere at Nickey's.

They talked about everything from swimming to homework to movies, and not once did anyone bring up Chase or anything Tyler had done recently. He even made plans with Reid to go to the movie theater on Friday. It was the most normal things had been in over a week.

When they got back to their room afterwards, Reid climbed into bed with Tyler without any prompting, making Tyler hopeful that he wasn't as upset as he'd been before. Either way, Tyler was content to lie in his arms, head on his shoulder.

"Good night," he said softly.

Reid kissed the top of his head. "G'night."


End file.
